Photography: courtesy of Ediciones B.
Inma Aguilera She is from Malaga and has a doctorate in Education and Social Communication. She also specialized in voice-over and dubbing and has provided voices for documentaries and audiobooks. Combine the teaching and research with the deed and illustration.
Among his works stands out The flutter of the butterfly, which in 2016 won the XXI Ateneo Joven de Sevilla Novel Prize. And later, for The eccentric Mr. Dennet received a special mention at the VIII HQÑ International Award. His latest novel is The Lady of La Cartuja and in this interview He tells us about her and many other topics. I appreciate her time and kindness.
Inma Aguilera — Interview
- ACTUALIDAD LITERATURA: Your new novel is titled The Lady of the Charterhouse. What do you tell us in it and where did your inspiration come from?
INMA AGUILERA: The novel begins in 1902 with Trinidad, a young British woman who arrives in Seville with the aim of speaking with the Marchioness María de las Cuevas Pickman, granddaughter of the promoter of the La Cartuja china factory. The company is not going through good times, and meeting the lady will not be easy, but Trinidad will insist on her efforts, because she thinks that the family of noble businessmen is the only one that can resolve a series of doubts that she has been carrying all her life. .
While Trinidad tries to contact María de las Cuevas, her story will intersect with that of Macarena, in 1871, and with that of Felisa, in 1850, both potters from Triana, and each one with her own circumstance to end up working in the factory. We will then see different eras of La Cartuja and Seville, as well as the day-to-day life of the factory workers, in contrast to the Triana workshops or bourgeois environments.
I was inspired by the lack of knowledge about the authorship of La Cartuja's emblematic designs, such as the 202 Rosa, the Ceilán or the Negro Vistas, that we knew hardly anything about who designed them. Later, I read that there was a lot of female labor from Triana among the workers who placed the decals on the dishes, but that almost all the designers and managers were bourgeois men. So, for me, romance stories were guaranteed.
First readings
- AL: Can you remember any of your first readings? And the first thing you wrote?
IA: I suppose I would read the typical children's books that they sent us at school, but I do remember perfectly what was the first book that made me think that literature did not have to be imposed, but rather something interesting and entertaining: How I learned to fly, by R.L. Stine. I was eight or nine years old and I picked it up a bit by chance, but it was a challenge for me. shock brutal to discover that a book could be fantastic, exciting, fun, and even have a touch of horror.
In no time I read the entire collection of Nightmares, and I think that, since then, I haven't stopped reading. For this reason, and because I also consumed a lot of comics and manga, I think it was logical that my first stories were fantastic.
The first thing i wrote properly, more or less around that time of nine or ten years, It was a little play about a group of friends who sneak into a haunted mansion, that I got to interpret at school. I played the ghost.
Authors and characters
- AL: A leading author? You can choose more than one and from all periods.
AI: Jane Austen. In fact, I have streaks in which I reread it, because I always discover something new, or I simply do it to enjoy scenes that I find sublime. TO Federico Garcia Lorca I also reread it from time to time. And if I feel like making my head explode, I know I can always turn to Ursula K. Le Guin and Stephen King.
- AL: What character would you have liked to meet and create?
AI: Scarlett O'Hara y Sherlock Holmes. And propose a romance or a good brawl, or both. I think that these types of characters have everything to be the most entertaining protagonists and the most maddening villains, which is why we love them on paper, but we are terrified by the idea of meeting someone who looks like them. Although I would find it hilarious. I would love to one day create characters as complete and as iconic as them.
Customs
- AL: Any special habits or habits when it comes to writing or reading?
IA: For both actions I prefer the silence absolute, but I love the sound of the mechanical keyboard, precisely because it isolates me. And when I'm shuffling scenes or rethinking what I've already done, I tend to get music because it helps me think better. I also eat a lot chocolate when I'm mulling over the plots, and if I get stuck, I start to draw, to write loose ideas on paper, or I take a Rubik's cube.
- AL: And your preferred place and time to do it?
IA: Both to read and to think I have mi chair. I make myself a donut like a cat and spend as much time as I like. To write properly I need to sit in front of the computer. Of course ideas come to me throughout the day, and everywhere, but that's what notebook or Notes on your mobile. I, at least, need to get in front of the screen and keyboard so that it suits me properly.
Genres and projects
- AL: What other genres do you like?
AI: All. I don't usually watch horror movies, for example, because I have a terrible time, but it's a genre that I admire a lot, and I do like them. fantasy novels and comics that have a touch of mystery or darkness. I find the goosebump feeling that some dark endings leave you very interesting. As for the rest, I like them all, I don't think there is a single genre that doesn't have something to teach me. It is true that there are some that appeal to me more than others, depending on what I feel like, but I think that It is worth daring to read a little of everything.
- AL: What are you reading now? And writing?
IA: I'm finishing shogun, by James Clavell, hallucinating with star maker, by Olaf Stapledon, and you also catch me having a great time with I also don't love you, by Violeta Reed.
Ando writing my next novel, although it is still early to talk about it.
Inma Aguilera – Current panorama
- AL: How do you think the publishing scene is?
IA: I couldn't say, I guess as it has always been: difficult. In other times it would have its stories, and now it presents ours. Today there is a post oversaturation, both in stores and online. I think that's wonderful, because it means that anyone has the opportunity to publish their creations and share them with others, but that also complicates viewing possibilities. And it doesn't make much sense to produce more content than is consumed.
I believe that both writers and publishers do what they think is most convenient, betting on what they think should stand out, or on what deserves it because it can contribute something different to what already exists.
- AL: How do you feel about the current moment we live in?
IA: In my case very good, because I have been lucky enough to find a wonderful team at Ediciones B, who supports me a lot and believes in what I do; the same way I have one super agent who always advises me well, which is essential in these times. Besides, The little lady has been very well received by the public, the press, critics and digital content creators. These months of promotion I have been hallucinating with the work done by influencers, instagramers y booktubers, who are dedicated precisely to highlighting your work so that people can also see it on social networks, so I am also very grateful.
I believe that there is nothing healthier than understanding the circumstances of each moment and knowing how to adapt. And it's nice to be able to turn to people who are dedicated to complementing what you do, because many more people are involved in the publishing world apart from you as a writer.